FCS CONFERENCE · 2026 SEASON

NEC

#23 overall#12 in FCSRR50 +9.0Upper strength +10.78 teamsTop 25 teams 0

VERDICT BEGINS · 2026

One Bid, One Game

The Northeast Conference is the smallest automatic-qualifier in FCS — eight programs from New Jersey to Maine, competing in markets where football is not the dominant sport. Sacred Heart, Stonehill (which joined in 2022 from Division II), Merrimack, and Wagner have all won or contended for NEC titles in recent years. The conference sends one automatic bid to the FCS bracket, which means the title game is effectively a winner-take-all single elimination into the national field. That structure creates legitimate high-stakes football at the regional level.

FCS8 teamsRace: FCS PlayoffLeader: Robert Morris

NEC · 2026 Season

Three Things to Watch

The StandardSacred Heart: Building Something Real in Fairfield

Sacred Heart is a private Catholic university in Fairfield, Connecticut that has made the FCS bracket two consecutive seasons — rare for a Northeast Conference program. Ed Swider's staff develops players who routinely outperform their high school rankings, and their offensive system has produced passing statistics that rank in the top 20 nationally in FCS. They enter 2026 as the NEC's most complete program by every measurable metric.

The NewcomerStonehill: DII Champion to FCS Contender

Stonehill won DII national championships and moved to FCS in 2022, joining the Northeast Conference. Their transition has been measured — losing some games they would have won at DII while building the roster depth that FCS requires. Entering their fourth FCS season in 2026, they have the foundation to contend for the automatic bid and the program culture to make it stick.

Wild Card

One Bid, One Game, Winner Take All

The NEC sends one program to the FCS bracket via an automatic bid. That means the conference title game — or even the regular-season standings — is effectively a single-elimination competition for national relevance. Every NEC game in November carries stakes that larger conferences distribute across four or five bracket spots. The NEC format makes every late-season game appointment viewing for fans of these programs.

Conference Standings · NEC · 2026

Standings

# Team Conf Overall Pwr Last 5
1Robert Morris1–02–1+10.8
2Stonehill1–01–2+8.2
3Central Connecticut0–00–2+10.0
4Duquesne0–00–2+9.5
5Long Island University0–00–3+9.2
6Mercyhurst0–00–3+8.0
7Wagner0–11–2+6.8
8New Haven0–11–2+6.3

Conference record determines standing. Power = neutral-field pts vs. all-level average. Last 5 = most recent game results.

Projected Standings · NEC · 2026

Win Projection

Odds of winning at least N conference games from current power ratings — full slate played out, not locked to results. AVG = expected wins; W–L = most-likely record.

# Team W–L PWR AVG ≥7≥6≥5≥4≥3≥2≥1
Favorites
1Robert Morris4–3+2.24.021235648797✓
2Central Connecticut4–3+1.43.811030608496✓
Challengers
3Duquesne4–3+0.93.71828578296✓
4Long Island University4–3+0.63.6172452799499
The Field
5Stonehill3–4-0.43.5162249779499
6Mercyhurst3–4-0.63.3151945749299
Rebuilding
7Wagner3–4-1.83.131438689098
8New Haven3–4-2.33.031335658898

Conference Power · FCS

Where We Stand

# Conference Avg Power vs Focal Top Team
1MVFC
+11.6
0–5Illinois State
2Big Sky
+11.0
—Montana State
3UAC
+10.7
—Tarleton State
4Southland
+10.6
—Stephen F. Austin
5SWAC
+10.3
—Prairie View A&M
6MEAC
+10.2
—South Carolina State
7Coastal Athletic
+9.9
0–3Rhode Island
8Southern
+9.9
—Tennessee Tech
9Patriot
+9.7
—Lehigh
10OVC
+9.6
—UT Martin
11NECYou are here
+9.0
—Robert Morris
12Pioneer
+8.9
1–0San Diego
13Ivy
+8.3
—Harvard

Round-robin power = strength of schedule-adjusted conference average, points vs. all-level average team. Record = NEC's record vs. that conference across all games this season.

The Northeast Conference is the smallest automatic-qualifier in FCS — eight programs from New Jersey to Maine, competing in markets where football is not the dominant sport. Sacred Heart, Stonehill (which joined in 2022 from Division II), Merrimack, and Wagner have all won or contended for NEC titles in recent years. The conference sends one automatic bid to the FCS bracket, which means the title game is effectively a winner-take-all single elimination into the national field. That structure creates legitimate high-stakes football at the regional level.

Conference Snapshot

RR50+9.0
Upper Strength+10.7
Median Power+9.0
Resume Pulse24.5
Avg ATS18.8%
Wins vs Market-0.08
Top-to-Middle Gap2.1
Combined Record5-17

`RR50`, `Upper Strength`, and `Median Power` are shown on the same public power scale as the rest of the site: points on a neutral field versus the average all-level NCAA team. Very small affiliations are gently regressed toward their subdivision baseline so a one-team outlier does not hijack the entire conference board.

NEC Team Board

The league stack, sorted by predictive strength. Power is shown as neutral-field points versus the all-level average team, while resume is shown on a 0-100 season score.

Rank Team Record Power Resume ATS Wins vs Market Recent Form
#169 Robert Morris 2-1 +10.8 61 1-1 +0.66 2-1 over the last 3 (W1 W1 L2)
#193 Central Connecticut 0-2 +10.0 19 0-2 -0.05 0-2 over the last 2 (L1 L2)
#208 Duquesne 0-2 +9.5 8 0-2 -0.04 0-2 over the last 2 (L1 L2)
#213 Long Island University 0-3 +9.2 8 1-2 -0.43 0-3 over the last 3 (L1 L1 L2)
#238 Stonehill 1-2 +8.2 46 2-1 +0.19 1-2 over the last 3 (L1 W1 L2)
#241 Mercyhurst 0-3 +8.0 7 0-3 -0.02 0-3 over the last 3 (L1 L1 L2)
#254 Wagner 1-2 +6.8 21 0-2 -0.67 1-2 over the last 3 (L1 W1 L2)
#259 New Haven 1-2 +6.3 25 0-3 -0.28 1-2 over the last 3 (W1 L1 L2)